Hypocrisy

A hypocrite of two faces: the regent Cixi (1835-1908) of China.

Hypocrisy is the act in which an individual behaves contrary to the values held by the same individual, or to act in accordance with principles that are criticized at the same time. According to the Royal Academy, it is the feigning of qualities or feelings contrary to those that are truly experienced or experienced. Hypocrisy can come from the desire to hide real motives or feelings from others. In many languages, including French, a hypocrite is someone who hides his intentions and true personality.

Etymology

The word comes from the Late Latin hypocrisis and the Greek ὑπόκρισις (hypokrisis), meaning "to act", "to pretend" or "an answer". It can also be understood as coming from the Greek hypo which means "mask" and crytes which means "answer" and so the word would mean "answer with masks" The word "hypocrite" comes from the Greek ὑποκρίτης (hypokrites), whose associated verb is υποκρίνομαι (hypokrinomai), that is, "I take part". Both derive from the verb κρίνω, "to judge" (»κρίση, "judgment"»κριτική [kritiki], "critics"), presumably because the making of a dramatic text involved a certain degree of interpretation of the text.

Definition

Hypocrisy consists of two operations, through which it manifests itself in simple and combined modes: simulation and dissimulation. Simulation consists of showing something other than what it is, while dissimulation hides what is not wanted to be shown.

Someone who believes they have the right to have a lover, but that their spouse does not, has double standards. However, someone who condemns everything related to adultery, but commits it, is a hypocrite. Hypocrisy is like lying, because they pretend to be someone they are not deceiving others, a person who does that is considered a hypocrite.

For the linguist and social analyst Noam Chomsky, hypocrisy is defined as the refusal to "... apply to ourselves the same values that we apply to others", and constitutes one of the evils central to our society, which promotes injustices such as war and social inequalities within a framework of self-deception, which includes the notion that hypocrisy itself is a necessary or beneficial part of human behavior and society.

Psychology of hypocrisy

In psychology, hypocritical behavior is related to the fundamental attribution error: individuals tend to explain their actions on the basis of their environment, but attribute the actions of others to "innate characteristics," that leads to judging others while justifying one's own actions.

Many people fail to recognize that they have imperfections that condemn others. According to Freudian psychology, this behavior is known as psychological projection. This is more of a self-deception than a deliberate deception of the rest of the people. In other words, the "psychological hypocrisy" it is often interpreted by psychologists as an unconscious defense mechanism and not as a conscious act of deception, as it results from the classic connotation of hypocrisy. People understand vices with which they face or have faced in the past. The efforts for the rest to overcome these vices can be sincere. There may also be an element of hypocrisy if the actors do not admit to themselves or others that they have had or have these vices.

Hypocrisy is usually based on the vast majority of false “friendship” relationships, which contradict the meaning of authentic friendship.

Hypocrisy and morality

Hypocrisy has been described, along with dishonesty, as a characteristic that attracts particular opprobrium in the modern age. Many belief systems condemn behaviors related to hypocrisy.

In Christian, some translations of the Book of Job in the Christian Bible, the Hebrew word khaneph (חנפ) is translated as "hypocrite", meaning " profane". In addition, the New Testament relates to Jesus Christ condemning on numerous occasions the hypocrisy of religious and political leaders. Christ instructs his disciples warning them not to be prolific hypocrites, not to make "vain repetitions"; nor "chattering" when praying, and that they are not like the hypocrites who want to be seen by men when they do their good deeds. Jesus also uses a metaphor to prevent this attitude, and urges his disciples to abstain from the leaven of the Pharisees, scribes, worldlings, and Herod. It is explicitly stated that the leaven of such men is hypocrisy. In addition, Jesus describes the hypocritical Pharisees as those who "say and do not" and in the parable of the evil servant the punishment of this being whipped is described, having "his part with the hypocrites". In this sense, there are multiple theological studies that catalog to hypocrisy as a sin and a characteristic of false converts, which without repentance, leads to eternal damnation for even those who claim to believe in God, but do not truly serve Him with their hearts and continue to sin deliberately. These studies often point to a biblical verse in which Jesus said:

Not everyone who tells me: Lord, LordHe shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will tell me on that day: Lord, LordWe did not prophesy in your name, and in your name did we draw demons, and in your name did many great things? And then I will confess unto them, I have never known you; turn away from me, ye laborers of evil.

Jesus Christ (Matthew 7:21-23Saved Scriptures (1569)

Additionally, the Christian faith commonly associates religious hypocrites with false prophets.

On the other hand, in the Buddhist text Dhammapada, Gautama Buddha condemns a man who took the guise of an ascetic. In Islam, the Qur'an criticizes munafiq - those who claim to be believers and peacemakers but are not.

Common fallacy

It is a common fallacy to accuse someone of being a hypocrite in order to dismiss an argument. This may be known as an ad hominem argument.

Also, the fallacy tu quoque appeals to the possible hypocrisy of the sender of the message.

Theoretical problems

There have been many theories about hypocrisy. The conflict caused by the contradiction may end differently.

In organizational studies, theorists such as Nils Brunsson have discussed the morality paradox of hypocrisy. Brunsson reasons that, despite conventional social reactions to it, hypocrisy can be an essential guard against bigotry, and can be beneficial to values and moral behavior.

In the field of international relations, scholars such as Krasner have suggested that sovereignty, specifically caused by the Peace of Westphalia, reaffirmed the principle cuius regio, eius religio, that is, that the faith of the leader became the official designation of his state. Krasner calls this a system of "organized hypocrisy".

Some business theorists have studied the utility of hypocrisy, and some have suggested that conflict manifested as hypocrisy is a necessary or beneficial part of human and societal behavior.